[ANN] API Network Coin set to release on June 15th using the Master Protocol

[fordlincoln]

The API Network is an open-source decentralized platform of public and private API's designed for developers. It will provide easy access to multiple APIs + IMAP and leverage cryptographic tokens created on the Bitcoin blockchain.

The API Network will offer a wide variety of both private and public API's, including data normalization and natural language processing services in a federated manner for data that is technically easy to host and index, such as IMAP and Exchange information.

API Network Coin will provide the resources and assets needed to build out the platform, and aquire initial backing as part of the crowdsale to incentivize developers to build the API Network Protocol's software.

The API Network Coin will operate using the "APICoin" to grant access its service, and compensate/incentivize nodes that are providing the API Network service in "APICoins"

Features of the API Network

Private API Marketplace: A node may join the API Network and publish a private API that it will provide calls for. The node will accept and price the calls to its API in API Tokens. This will establish a link between the value of the service and that of the tokens. While the demand for the service will reflect in the demand for the token, the market place of nodes opertaing to perform a variety of API calls will be competing with each other thus rendering the service cheaper to perform. The competing supply and the competing demand will give rise to the dynamic emergent market place.

The use of the SAFE Network: When the API Publisher stores information on the SAFE Network, the SAFE protocol will issue tokens to the Bitcoin address provided by the API publisher, to enable sustained storage and recall.

Storage of Cached API Data: The API Network will use SAFE Network in the back-end to store the cached API data for users. This will be accomplished through the conversion of API Tokens to SAFE coins to purchase storage space for the user in the decentralized exchange.

API Billing Module: The API Network will require sending of API tokens before the API services are provided, and the system will use AnArk.it for the escrow and holding of the API tokens for its billing module. That way the handling of the API tokens can be done in a completely decentralized manner where neither the user nor the API publisher will be able to access the API tokens until the promised action is preformed to the satisfaction of both parties.

Data Normalization: The API Network contains libraries and tools for the normalizatin of data. This tool set is open-source, available to all users of the API Network system, and will be maintined as part of the core implimentation of the API Network Protocol.

IMAP Intergration: The API Network contains libraries and tools for the intergration of IMAP email systems. This tool set is open-source and available to all users of the API Network system and will be maintined as part of the core implimentation of the API Network Protocol.

Exchange Intergration: The API Network contains libraries and tools for the intergration of exchange email systems. This tool set is open-source and available to all users of the API Network system and will be maintined as part of the core implimentation of the API Network Protocol.

Single Developer Interface: The API Network contains libraries and tools for developers to interact with multiple API's through a single interface. This tool set is open-source and available to all users of the API Network system and will be maintined as part of the core implimentation of the API Network Protocol.

Natural Language Processing Tools: The API Network contains libraries and tools for the processing and indexing of natural language. This tool set is open source and available to all users of the API Network system and will be maintined as part of the core implimentation of the API Network Protocol.

Public API Marketplace: The API Network will provide a marketplace for public APIs (Gmail, Facebook, Twitter and so forth) to be accessed through a Federated Network of API hosting providers. This marketplace of public API's will provide access to reputation and identity systems (anark.it and onename.io for example) to allow users to pick the API call provider of their choice. The marketplace for public API's will leverage the API Network opensource data normalization, interface and natural language process tools.

The “APICoin Generation”

The API Network uses the Master Protocol to create a user currency identifer. These tokens are generated by the participants in the "API Address", a Bitcoin address starting June 15th 2014. The generation will continue until the end of the 'crowdsale' event until the target amount of funding is committed or the ending date is reached.

Initial distribution of APICoins will essentially be a effort to incentivize developers to write the software which fully implements the protocol. The issuance of tokens will proceed as the following simple steps:

Anyone sending bitcoins to the "API Address" before July 15th, 2014 is recognized by the protocol as owning 100x that number of APICoins. For instance, if the user sends 100 bitcoins to the "API Address" before July 15th, their bitcoin address owns 10,000 APIcoins after July 15th.
In order to encourage adoption momentum, buyers will get an additional 10% bonus APICoinss if they make their purchase a week before the deadline, 20% extra if they purchase two weeks weeks before, and so on, including partial weeks, prorating the total purchase accordingly. Thus, if I send 100 bitcoins to the "API Address" 1.5 weeks before the 15th of July 2014, the protocol recognizes my bitcoin address as owning 11,500 APICoinss (10000 + 15% bonus).
Attempts to send funds to the API "Address" on or after midnight (central time) July 15st 2014 (as determined by bitcoin block chain records) will not be considered APICoins purchases and shall be sent back to the originating Bitcoin wallets in the form of Bitcoin minus transaction fees.
In the event that a purchase has multiple inputs, the input address contributing the most funds is recognized as owning the APICoins.

Note that anyone who purchases APICoins also receive the ability to test new features before they are available for use in the API Network Protocol.

Developer APICoins (Dev Tokens)

For every 4 APICoin sold, an additional “Developer APICoins” will also be created, which will be awarded to the API Address slowly over the following years. These delayed API Tokens will ensure that the community can incentivize developers to increase the value of API Token by completing the features desired by users. The reward will be structured so that the distributed bounty system receives the tokens on a logarithmic scale: 50% of all the Dev API Tokens by one year after the initial sale, 75% by a year later, 87.5% by the year after, and so on.

SAFE coins generated by the use of API's published on the API Network will be sent to the API Network developer pool purchase APICoins on the Decentralized Exchange and hold them for release to contributors to the API Network open source code.

Check out our Reddit here: http://www.reddit.com/r/APInetwork/
Check out the Whitepaper: https://github.com/DavidJohnstonCEO/APINetwork/blob/master/README.md
Website: http://www.apinetwork.co/

[MCRyan]

API Network Enhances App Development with API Marketplace
By Ryan Keenan, Distributed Buzz

The API Network greatly expands the functionality of applications without the need to learn different proprietary APIs over and over. Developer resources are often scattered and founders find themselves in the time consuming position of mixing and matching APIs to build better applications. There is often a steep learning curve for each new API. The API Network takes aim at solving this problem by incentivizing web service owners to connect their APIs to the API Network’s marketplace. API Coins will be the token in which empowers the API Network marketplace. The API Network will give developers the comfort of focusing on creating a wonderful user experience without the worry of complex infrastructure.

Curtis Lacy, the API Network’s chief architect is a man with a bold mission. "The goal of the API Network is to take all the APIs out in the world, and provide a universal mechanism for querying them.  APICoin will provide a transparent and distributed way to compensate developers and service providers for their effort." Curtis has served the past two years as Engine, Inc.’s Chief Technology Officer and has led development on several crypto projects backed by the BitAngels Network.

On June 18th the API Coin crowdsale will go live on the Master Protocol. Founders, developers, and users alike will have the opportunity to claim their share of an open source project that has the potential to unlock the ease of development for the masses. API Coins are generated by the participants in the "API Address", a Bitcoin address starting June 15th 2014. For each one Bitcoin sent to the API Address before July 15th, 2014, one hundred API Coins will be sent back to the sending address. In order to encourage adoption momentum, buyers will receive an additional 10% bonus in APICoins if they make their purchase a week before the deadline and 20% extra if they purchase two weeks before, and so on, including partial weeks, prorating the total purchase accordingly.


Resources:

API Network Website - http://apinetwork.co/
API Network Whitepaper - https://github.com/DavidJohnstonCEO/APINetwork
API Network Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/244322819024894/
API Network Reddit - www.reddit.com/r/APInetwork/

[fordlincoln]

We're looking for developers interested in our project for an open-source API marketplace, if you would like to join the discussion we have a Skype chat
Please PM if you want to be added!

[jake_collatz]

Just had a chat with the API network team at: https://www.hipchat.com/gFP0CCs4O

As a good crypto citizen, I believe that we should be issuing a strong warning for this raise.

Jake Collatz
12:54 PM
Hello
Sam Onat Yilmaz
12:54 PM
Hi Jaek
Jake sorry I misspelled your name
Jake Collatz
12:54 PM
When does the crowdsale start?
Sam Onat Yilmaz
12:54 PM
got excited to have you here
Jake Collatz
12:54 PM

Sam Onat Yilmaz
12:54 PM
it has started and we are 27 BTC into it
buyxap.com
Jake Collatz
12:55 PM
What is the total amount that you're raising?
Sam Onat Yilmaz
12:55 PM
gives you tha btc address to send to
first batch 500 BTC, the crowdsale continue until all of the volume is sold. 500 + 1,000 + 2,000 + 4,692
as the tokens are bought, as this is a sign of market demand, the price is set to increase
D Johnston
12:56 PM
We are letting the market decide how much volume and at what price.
Here check out this article I wrote on this approach.
Sam Onat Yilmaz
12:56 PM
you can see the prices on the website buyxap.com
Jake Collatz
12:56 PM
Ah so that is 8,192 total bitcoins?
D Johnston
12:56 PM
https://github.com/DavidJohnstonCEO/CrowdsaleBestPractices
   
DavidJohnstonCEO/CrowdsaleBestPractices
Crowdsale Best Practices "Let The Market Decide"
Sam Onat Yilmaz
12:57 PM
correct, that is the cap on the raise
Jake Collatz
12:57 PM
which is 3,000,000 xap?
Sam Onat Yilmaz
12:57 PM
correct
Jake Collatz
12:57 PM
and there will be 10,000,000 xap in total, correct?
Sam Onat Yilmaz
12:57 PM
correct
but at the end of the crowdsale there will only be 5,000,000 xap
Jake Collatz
12:58 PM
Can you verify that all company profits will be channelled through these 10,000,000 xap?
Sam Onat Yilmaz
12:58 PM
the remaining 5,000,000 will be issued over time
D Johnston
12:58 PM
Firstly, for example the API Network is offering API Coins (XAP) at a rate of 1.6 mBTC per XAP for the first 500 bitcoins worth of sales. The price increases to 2.13 mBTC per XAP during the sale of the next 1,000 bitcoins worth of XAP. The price then increases to 2.66 mBTC per XAP during the sale of the next 2,000 bitcoins worth of XAP. Lastly, the price increases to 3.12 mBTC per XAP during the sale of the last 4,692 bitcoins worth of XAP.

It is worth noting that neither the API Network team expect to collect the maximum number of bitcoins by selling out all of their tokens (though it is possible if demand has been radically underestimated). Instead, both project have set a range of price points and are leaving it up to the market to decide the proper price of API Coins (XAP). If the market decides these projects are highly valued, than the price of the coins will reach a higher level during the crowdsale. Conversely, if the market decides that these projects are not as highly valued, than the price of the coins will not rise as high during the crowdsale. Either way the pricing of these tokens is for the market to determine.
Hide full text
Sam Onat Yilmaz
12:59 PM
Jake, I presume you are asking if all the service purchases will be purchased with APICoins.
And that is true
Jake Collatz
12:59 PM
I'm just getting an accurate sense of what this raise is, and what I'd be investing in
Sam Onat Yilmaz
1:00 PM
Just clarifying because there is no company-a centralized entity- turning a profir
profit*
the demand for the services of the application will be reflected in the demand for the coin
Jake Collatz
1:00 PM
yes, but this is analogous to another corporate structure
Jake Collatz
1:01 PM
it just means that the shareholders are rewarded by xap ownership
Jake Collatz
1:01 PM
either the shares raise in value because of corporate profits, or in this case, xap raises in value
D Johnston
1:01 PM
Well, just to be clear its not an equity or share (you might be using the term generally).
Sam Onat Yilmaz
1:01 PM
just for legal correctness perhaps it would be better to use the phrase "stake holders" since there are no shares
Jake Collatz
1:01 PM
Ok, stake holders
Sam Onat Yilmaz
1:01 PM
the tokens are pre-sale of services of the network
D Johnston
1:01 PM
token holder
cure.
Sam Onat Yilmaz
1:02 PM
correct
the xap rises in value as the application handles more transactions and delivers more services
D Johnston
1:02 PM
Sure*
Jake Collatz
1:02 PM
so you're selling 30% stake for about $5,000,000 usd, correct?
D Johnston
1:02 PM
Correct. If it were to all sell out.
Though we aren't expecting that.
Jake Collatz
1:03 PM
what do you expect?
Sam Onat Yilmaz
1:03 PM
so the nuance here Jake is that if we collected 4,000 BTC
D Johnston
1:04 PM
We set the range wide enough where it the market can decide
Sam Onat Yilmaz
1:04 PM
the valuation of all tokens will be less than 5,000,000 with more room to grow
that is why it is better to get in early as with the demand for the tokens, the tokens' price will be climbing during the crowdsale
D Johnston
1:04 PM
Its 100% better price for the first 500 BTC worth.
Than if the sale gets to the last portion.
Jake Collatz
1:05 PM
so if you just sell 500btc worth
Jake Collatz
1:05 PM
you'd be selling 312,500 xap
Jake Collatz
1:05 PM
correct?
D Johnston
1:06 PM
Correct.
 
1:06 PM
Paul Snow joined the room.
Jake Collatz
1:07 PM
that would be 3.1% of total xap
Jake Collatz
1:07 PM
yes?
 
1:10 PM
Curtis Lacy left the room.
D Johnston
1:10 PM
Of the 10,000,000 eventual total yes.
Hey Paul.
Paul Snow
1:11 PM
hello
Jake Collatz
1:11 PM
So you're effectively raising on somewhere between a 9.75m and 16.67m valuation, correct?
D Johnston
1:11 PM
Though the 5,000,000 for the developer pool, third party pool, and node incentive will be paid out via the network over a long period of time.
Well, if I wanted to know the valuation of Bitcoin I'd do it on the ones that exist vs future bitcion.
Jake Collatz
1:12 PM
Can you explain?
D Johnston
1:12 PM
Sure.
So with 12,000,000 BTC in circulation
I'd multiple that times the price of BTC
Jake Collatz
1:12 PM
understood.
D Johnston
1:12 PM
So for API Coin
I'd do the same
Jake Collatz
1:13 PM
what is the current progress on the project?
D Johnston
1:13 PM
At max the crowdsale will end with 5,000,000 in circulation.
Maybe as low as 2,000,000
Or its more like we are selling between a 2,000,000 valuation and a 10,000,000 valuation.
Jake Collatz
1:14 PM
I'm not sure
Jake Collatz
1:14 PM
What is the distribution
Jake Collatz
1:14 PM
of the other coins?
D Johnston
1:14 PM
https://github.com/APINetwork/ProtocolSpec#total-distribution-of-apicoins-xap
   
APINetwork/ProtocolSpec#total-distribution-of-apicoins-xap
Protocol Specification for API Network
Here is the break down.
Jake Collatz
1:15 PM
Ok thank you
D Johnston
1:15 PM
https://github.com/APINetwork/personal-data-module
   
APINetwork/personal-data-module
Access a variety of data sources in a simple, consistent way.
D Johnston
1:15 PM
As for the progress the project already has a ton of code.
It is acquiring from the Engine Inc. project whom is open sourcing it.
Jake Collatz
1:16 PM
what is the status of engine?
D Johnston
1:16 PM
This was a formally closed company that is deciding to open all its code to open source through the API Network crowdsale and platform.
Transitioning from private company to open source.
API Network is now the focus of all its founders and developers.
Jake Collatz
1:16 PM
did it raise funds? was it profitable?
D Johnston
1:16 PM
See team here.
Jake Collatz
1:17 PM
re: engine
D Johnston
1:17 PM
http://www.apinetwork.co/
Yep raised money from Angel Investors, however the team pivoted to the open source approach about 6 months ago before its production launch.
And that we when it was programming the front end as well.
Jake Collatz
1:18 PM
So engine has not launched a product?
D Johnston
1:18 PM
Now all focus is on the platform and marketplace itself.
D Johnston
1:20 PM
It did a demonstration of the tech as a Beta to pull in use data and had lots of beta testers. www.Engine.co
Jake Collatz
1:20 PM
Ok, this is fascinating!

Conclusion:This "team" is raising bitcoins on a $9,750,000 - $16,670,000 valuation for a product which is unfinished, has zero market traction, and has failed in a previous iteration.  This "crowdfunding" attempt is merely an effort to capitalize off of uneducated investors pockets.  Any seasoned tech angel investor or venture capitalist would run from this valuation, lack of legal certainty regarding profit distribution, and incompetent team.

The crypto-currency community as a whole needs to bring awareness to these scams to shed publicity like this:
http://www.finra.org/investors/protectyourself/investoralerts/fraudsandscams/p456458

[impulsecorp]

Jake - I had never heard of them until this posting, but what they are doing seems no worse than many of the hundreds of other altcoins that are being launched. At least their altcoin is trying to do something new and useful (simplifying cryptocurrency APIs for sites to use), and at least they are fully disclosing all the info.  It may be a very bad investment from a VC point of view or from an altcoin investor point of view, but that does not make it a scam.  They are trying to create value from nothing, just like Bitcoin has an inherent value of nothing, so until they launch it there is really no way to know what it will be worth.

I am in no way vouching for API Network Coin or the people behind it, and it could be a scam, but it seems harsh to say that just based on the facts so far.

- Eric